Samsung’s latest tablet is its biggest yet

It’s difficult to imagine what Samsung’s execs were thinking when they designed the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. The device seemingly stretches the limits of how big an Android tablet can be, and encroaches on the footprint that’s usually reserved for notebooks. It’s certainly priced like a notebook – commanding a wallet draining Php 36,990 for the relatively more sedate, WiFi only Exynos powered version.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

• Exynos 5 Octa 1.9 GHz QuadCore + 1.3 GHz Quadcore
• 3GB RAM
• 32 GB internal sotrage, expandable via microSD
• 12.2-inch Super clear LCD WQXGA (2560 X 1600)
• 8-megapixel, Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash,
• 2-megapixel
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, AllShareCast, BT4.0,
• USB3.0
• GPS + GLONASS
• 9,500mAh
• Android 4.4 (KitKat)
• Php 36,990

Premium, classy build

You’d think that Samsung would pull out all the stops when it comes to a device as high profile as the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. You’d be right. While the device is still completely constructed out of plastic, the back of the Pro 12.2 uses the same faux leather as the one in the Galaxy Note 3, writ large. The stitching on the back is as immaculate as ever, and makes an already expensive device feel much more premium.

It’s a tablet that just begs to be put in a trendy leather bag.

Looking at it head-on, the Pro looks like other tablets in the Note series. We can sense that Samsung went to great lengths to keep the design language identical to the other devices in the line, possibly in a bid to further differentiate the Tab and the Note line of tablets from each other. Samsung’s logo unsurprisingly occupies the top of the bezel, with the physical home and function keys lying either side of it.

The Pro wouldn’t be a Note device without a S-Pen, Samsung’s own interpretation of a stylus. The Pro’s holster for the pen is located near the upper right, on the back. The S-Pen on the Pro has been slightly modified by Samsung, but still retains the distinctive button on its body that allows users to acess its more advanced features. Speaker grilles flank the PRO’s edge on both sides, while the USB port and microSD slot reside on the right side of the device. The power button and volume rocker sits on top of the device, while the 3.5mm jack rests on the left side.

The Pro uses a large, 12.2-inch super clear LCD panel with a resolution of 2560 x 1600. Simply put, the display is gorgeous. Icons and text on the Pro look extremely sharp and detailed. Viewing angles are wide and generous.One thing that we did notice is that the display does not do well under direct sunlight, as we struggled to see what was on the screen even with the brightness cranked all the way up. Clearly, the shade is your friend when outdoors.

Loaded to the brim with software extras and features

Predictably, the PRO comes loaded with Samsung’s proprietary software needed to take advantage of the S-Pen. Features like the Action Memo, Scrabook, S Note (which integrates to your Samsung account or Evernote) and Sketchbook. Once you remove the S Pen from the holster, a palette of sorts appears on the screen, allowing you to access Action Memo, Scrap Booker, Screen Write, S Finder and Pen Window right away.

Aside from the Pen’s functionality, you can also swipe from the right bezel to reveal the multi-touch window option to open multiple windows at once. You wouldn’t want to open more than one because of reason’s we’ll get into later. The windows can be resized and moved depending on your whim, which theoretically allows you better productivity as opposed to a tablet without the feature. In theory, at least.

The Pro also uses UX, simply called Magazine, that resides in one of the home screens of the device. It was developed in collaboration with Flipboard to take advantage of the huge screen size of the Pro. You navigate through it much like you navigate through Flipboard, and obviously the items in it are curated by Flipboard. It’s pretty nice to use if you’re a Flipboard user, unfortunately if you’re not there’s really not a whole much you can do to completely turn it off.

Another nice extra for the Pro is Remote PC, which as the name suggests, allows you to connect your Pro to your PC and control it from the tablet. The setup is easy and straightforward and shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to complete. Once you get it up and running, you’re now able to use your PC remotely, but the feature isn’t without its flaws. Inputting text is a bit wonky, as the tablet’s keyboard covers most of half of the display, which can be annoying if you’re trying to type.

Fast, smooth performance thanks to Samsung’s Octa-core processor

Powering the WiFi version of the pro is Samsung’s own Exynos 5 Oct, which is basically a 1.9 GHz QuadCore + 1.3 GHz Quadcore processor melded together. Paired with 3GB of RAM, you’d think it would be obvious that the Pro would deliver the goods as far as performance is concerned. Well, yes and no. Apps that Samsung included with the Pro (and there’s a lot of them) opened quickly, and we noticed not one whiff of lag during screen transitions.

The problem comes whenever you start using the multi-window mode of the Pro. While we never really opened more than one Window in other Samsung devices that was capable of this because of the constraints of the screen, on the PRO’s generous 12.2-inch display, you’re almost tempted to go wild. Running one instance of multi-view, we noticed that the Pro immediately took a performance hit. Opening more than one is inviting trouble, even though the PRO’s technically capable of running more than four at any given time.

That’s not to say that the Pro is a slouch when it comes to performance, as it posted a blistering score of 34406 in AnTuTu. But synthetic benchmarks aren’t everything, as our astute readers like to point out repeatedly – it’s real world performance that matters. Well, aside from the issues we’ve outlined above, the PRO proved to be a very capable tablet. With a display (and resolution) as large as the PRO’s, playing games like Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 on it was pure Android gaming bliss. We didn’t experience any lag or stuttering in our extended gaming sessions.

Camera that you wouldn’t want to use (if you don’t want to feel ridiculous)

We’ve always taken a position against using a tablet to capture photos, especially devices that are more than 7-icinches in size. That rule holds especially true with the PRO. The PRO’s ridiculous size makes taking photos with it a chore, not to mention an exercise in ridiculousness. It’s also extremely difficult to access the camera’s controls because of the sheer size of the display.

As far as image quality is concerned, the PRO has a decent set of optics.

Good battery life

While the PRO has a ridiculously large 9500mAh battery inside it, remmember that it’s also powering an extremely large 12.2-inch display. We managed to go through almost half of the PRO’s battery with light usage on a typical 8-hour workday. Granted, we had the display brightness cranked to the max, which may have hastened the demise of the battery. Using our video loop test (SD video, 50% brightness) the PRO lasted around 12 hours, which is pretty good considering its size.

Verdict: Great for professionals and creatives, just an expensive toy for everyone else

So is the Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 worth the extremely high price it’s asking for? That depends entirely on your profession. If you’re a creative or a professional that does a lot of sketching, drafting and presentations for client, then the Note PRO 12.2 is just what you need. The pressure sensitive S Pen is still one of the most preferred by creative and artsy types out there. Combine that with the absolutely huge screen real-estate on the Pro, then the device’s high price is somewhat palatable. The Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 definitely isn’t for everyone (90% of you won’t need its features) but for the 10% who do need it, it’s a godsend.